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The Second Age
A dissertation by Tockworth Laudin - Chief Professor of Divinity at the University of Alinéar From Rock and Stone Birth of the Dwarves It is now known that the race of Dwarves were to Maelanon as the Human race was to Alphamus. There is, I believe some knowledge in this to be gained regarding the beginnings of the second age, which is marked by Maelanon's fall, and the arrival of the Orc into the realm of Elgardt. We have long known that it was pride which led to the War of the Worshipers, and the jealousy of the lesser gods that drove them to join in the conflict that brought such devastation. As “The Book of Alphamus” teaches us – it was their desire to be worshiped as Alphamus was that drove the gods to reveal themselves to humanity in the first place, having been content up until that time to do their work behind the scenes and allow their Father to be the object of mankind’s deific affection. Now, while Maelanon joined with Alphamus in reprimanding their children, and in establishing the Treaty of Transcendence which ensures that no Immortal should enter the Material Realm excepting that they should first take on the body and qualities of a mortal, it is now clear that she was by no means unaffected by the same emotions that afflicted her children. In fact, it is believed by many scholars that it was her influence that led the lesser deities along the paths that they eventually took, and that the wars were in themselves a smaller part of her master plan to overthrow her husband. The book of Alphamus tells us that: “The Composer shaped the mountains with his song, he filled the oceans with music, the ''sweeping planes and rolling hills came into being as the crescendo of sound resounded through the ''world. A staccato trill accompanied the first plants and animals that sprang forth from the ground at ''the Composers call, and finally – the overarching melody of the composers song as from the dust he ''formed the bodies of Man.” Now, this is important to not, because we are told that the Material Realm was created through the Song of Eternity, while the bodies of Man were created from the dust of the land. We are told through some of the earliest writings of the Dwarves found chiseled into the rock of the “Chambers of History” in some of the older Dwarven cities that the Dwarves were: “Cut from the living rock of the mountain by the Mother of Creation. To her, the Lady of Tears, we owe our existence, and to the Father, The Maker of Music, we owe our Mountains.” Now, we have no reason to believe that the writings recorded by the Dwarves are anything but true – or that at least, the Dwarves who carved them there believed that they were true. And so from this we learn that even before the Children of Alphamus revealed themselves to Mankind, Maelanon had created for herself another race out of the rock of the mountains. It would seem from the evidence of these carvings that Alphamus – the Great Composer, or as the Dwarves call him here, “The Maker of Music”, was aware of the Dwarves existence, had made himself known to them, and had as they say “given them the mountains Whether this was an attempt by Alphamus to keep them hidden, a bargain that he made with Maelanon, or part of some grander plan is uncertain, but what is clear is that the Dwarves loved their mountains, and they gave the credit for them to Alphamus – not Maelanon. Birth of the Orcs It seems that many of the Dwarves were so caught up in their mining, their craftsmanship, their pursuit of material wealth, and the expansion of their beloved underground homes that they started to give praise to Alphamus – the God of the Mountain, more so than they did to Maelanon, to whom they owed their existence. This, it appears, vexed the Mother Goddess beyond comprehension, and it was shortly after this time that the lesser gods began to complain to the Composer that they wished to share in the love of Mankind. There is little that we know, and nor that we will ever know as to the true origin of the Orcs. What we do know through tracing back the origins of their first assaults on the world of men is that they originated deep within the bowels of the Odéan Mountains. Legend has it that Maelanon took a seed from the Shadow Realm itself, and planted it in the darkest place of the Material Realm. There, deep within the mountain, the shadow grew, took on flesh, and that the Dark Mistress poured into these new bodies the shades of fallen warriors from the Shadow Realm. She also poured into them her rage, her malice, and her desire for power, for vengeance and the destruction of the Light. In the darkness, the first Orcs waited. Hibernating, and brooding on the rage that was not their own, until one day – the ringing of Dwarven pick-axes on stone could be heard, echoing through the dark cavern. With tooth and claw the unsuspecting Dwarves were slain, and then – armed with Pick axes and stone the Orcs poured into the underground kingdom of Odéa. Armed with Dwarven Steel, the Orcs issued forth into the surface world, and waged war upon the realm of Man, even as it reeled from the destruction wrought by the warring of the gods. Darkness and War Fall of Maelanon Again, from the Book of Alphamus: though it uses colourfully poetic language we learn that: from the moment the Orcs became known, The Song of Eternity had been forever altered. Alphamus, the Great Composer heard it immediately – like an instrument playing disastrously out of tune in the Orchestra of Life. Knowing that there is only one being capable of creating new things outside of itself – Alphamus went in search of his Wife, but she was nowhere to be found in the Heavenly, Ethereal, or Material Realms. Maelanon had retreated into the one place that she knew Alphamus could not follow her – the Realm of Shadow. Any man of science will tell you that the brightest lights cast the darkest shadows, but also that a shadow, and a light cannot exist in the same space. If Alphamus – the God of the Light of Creation, were to enter into the Realm of Shadow, the Realm itself would cease to exist. It is, by it's very nature, a place without Alphamus. Now – some of you might say “Hey, that sounds great – why didn't he just do that?”, and well, the answer to that is that although we might think of the Shadow Realm as a place of fear, darkness and horror – it was not always that way, and it is, to the existence of the universe – a necessary evil if that is even the right word. The Shadow Realm is a part of the cyclic nature of life. The other realms are inextricably linked with the Realm of Shadows, and to destroy one is to unravel the fabric of another. Furthermore – not everyone who enters the Shadow Realm is evil, and many have become trapped there for one reason or another, awaiting a time when they can re-enter the Star Path. If the realm were destroyed, so too would the shades of all those people. It would be as if they never existed, and Alphamus cares for his creation too much to do that. And so, the realm of Men burned once more. Even as they fought to defend their homes from the onslaught of the green-skinned horde, the cities of Men were also forced to deal with an influx of Dwarven refugees – fleeing their mountain homes as more and more Orcs poured from the dark places of the world. All seemed lost, and the Gods looked on, unable to intervene because of the pact they had made to refrain from interacting with material world – when Alphamus came up with a solution. Fallen Stars Birth of the Elves The combined armies of Mankind, and the sorry remainder of the race of the Dwarves faced off against the overwhelming darkness of the Orcish swarm in what was set to be their last stand before these monsters flooded the last cities of Elgardt, bringing about an end to the age of Men – when from the skies, a series of falling stars heralded the arrival of the first Elves, smashing the Orcish horde, consuming them in wave of flame and death. Out of the dust marched the army of the Elvenkin – the race of Ethereal servants to the Great God Alphamus who took on flesh, sacrificing their immortality that they might come to Elgardt and fight to defend their masters creation. Powerful, ferocious, and armed with swords made from pure light – the Elves smashed the Orcs on the field of battle, and drove them back into the mountain. There the Orcs barricaded themselves in, fighting the Elves to a stalemate, and forcing them to withdraw. The people of Eldgardt rejoiced, and their new-found comrades summoned those who would call themselves leaders of Men and Dwarves to a meeting and war council. The Elves informed that Alphamus had given them specific instructions – that they were to ensure humanities survival, and assist Mankind in achieving their destiny - not to fulfill that destiny for them. The Elves refused to pursue the Orcish Horde any further unless a champion would step forward from the free peoples of Elgardt to lead them. There was much argument among the people – most had suffered more than they could bear, and the fear of death was upon them all. It was at this time that a young man from the Southern Tribes by the name of Elswain stepped forward, and took up the mantle of leadership. Taking command over the armies of the Elves, and those few Men and Dwarves with strength of resolve left to fight – Elswain led an assault on the Mountain Kingdoms and scattered the remaining Orcs, slaying them there in the caverns, and scattering the remainder to the four winds. For his heroism in Elgardts greatest hour of need, the people did crown Elswain their King – and during his reign he oversaw the re-building of many cities, the settling of the Elven-Kin, and helped many Dwarves to adjust to their new life as surface dwellers, and for others helped to reclaim much of their mountain home from the Orcs that lingered there. With Elven vigour, Dwarven ingenuity, and Human resolve, Elgardt found its feet once more, and the Song of Eternity – which had grown quiet for so long, flourished in the ears of the Composer. Category:History Category:Gods